About Penang Free School

Penang Free School is a secondary school located on Green Lane (officially Jalan Masjid Negeri), George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Penang Free School is the first English-medium school in Southeast Asia, and is the oldest recorded school in Southeast Asia. It's alumni are known as "Old Frees".

The school was founded by Rev. Robert Sparke Hutchings on 21 October 1816, on the island of Penang, Malaya. Its first headmaster was Mr. William Cox 1816-1821. Its premises stood on Farquhar Street first housed the Hutchings School, but is now the Penang State Museum and Art Gallery. In 1928, the school moved to its current location on Green Lane (officially Jalan Masjid Negeri). The school hosted the first communist cell ever to penetrate a Malayan school. Several of the schoolmasters were socialist in outlook and encouraged the formation of the cell, which produced a cadre of communist leaders who made their careers in China. The communist cell was suppressed in the late 1930s.

The school received cluster school status from the Malaysian Ministry of Education in 2007.

The current headmaster of the school and President of this cooperation is Mr. Omar bin Abd Rashid.

Moreover in the year 2016, Penang Free School reached its 200 year mark. The Grand Old Lady's Bicentennial Celebration recorded the largest school alumni gathering in the country... Due to the special occasion, we sold many and continue to sell many souviners and commemorative items at our schools cooperative.

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